‘That basically is genocide in itself’: Video from the pipeline standoff on Wet’suwet’en territory

The push to put the Coastal GasLink pipeline through unceded Wet’suwet’en territory in B.C. is “basically violating all the terms and conditions of the Delgamuukw court case,” says Dsta’Hyl, hereditary chief of the Lihkt’samisyu clan.

“I think that basically is genocide in itself.”

The Delgamuukw case, brought by the hereditary leadership of the Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan nations, resulted in a 1997 Supreme Court of Canada decision affirming Indigenous title.

New video footage from Ricochet features Chief Dsta’Hyl and Molly Wickham, spokesperson for the Gidimt’en clan. These interviews were shot after the RCMP’s establishment of a roadblock on Wet’suwet’en territory on Jan. 13, 2020, which followed a court injunction to allow Coastal GasLink workers access to the area.

“I think it’s important for Wet’suwet’en folks to come through the exclusion zone, and if they’re not permitting people you need to push that and try every single day,” says Wickham.

“Come out and don’t be afraid. This is Wet’suwet’en territory. Wet’suwet’en people should never be afraid to be out on their own territory and to be able to travel freely through the territories.”